Sanchez looks for luck and an upset

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Manchester: Judging by some of the comments emanating from the
England camp this week, qualification for next year's World Cup is
a done deal as far as some of Sven-Goran Eriksson's stars are
concerned.

With Steven Gerrard promising to make up for the disappointment
of missing out on World Cup 2002, and Rio Ferdinand openly
discussing the prospects of England winning next year's finals,
Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez has not exactly been short
of motivational material.

When it comes to puncturing inflated egos, the former Wimbledon
player has got form - just ask any of the Liverpool team who were
mugged by the crazy gang in the 1988 FA Cup final.

Sanchez scored the winning goal that day and has been searching
for a defining moment to match it ever since: Saturday's match at
Old Trafford presents the perfect opportunity to add a second
footnote to his biographical entry in football's record books.

"Part of the reason I got this job as Northern Ireland manager
was because, during my career, I was able to cause upsets," he
recalled this week, while admitting that even a draw with England
would represent a major achievement for his side of journeyman
professionals.

"The team believe they can score goals and we are capable of
winning games. If we do the things we can do well and England don't
perform as they can, we are capable of getting something from the
game but we will need a bit of luck as well."

In his 15 months in charge, Sanchez has undeniably succeeded in
making Northern Ireland significantly harder to beat than they
were.

But England's collection of millionaire superstars are unlikely
to be intimidated by a team sheet on which only goalkeepers Roy
Carroll and Maik Taylor, of Manchester United and Birmingham, can
describe themselves as established premiership players.

"We accept that the people expect us to beat them by a cricket
score," Ferdinand admitted. "But it is not the case in
international football these days. The so-called lesser teams on
paper are always capable of giving you hard games.

"But as long as we approach the game right and we prepare in the
right way, fingers crossed it should go to plan."

Provided complacency does not strike, England will expect to
follow up three points at Old Trafford with another victory,
against Azerbaijan at Newcastle on Wednesday.

An eye-catching performance would be welcome from Wayne Rooney,
who could do with distracting attention away from the police
investigation into allegations he assaulted a student in a
Manchester nightclub in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Ferdinand, who was with Rooney on the night in question,
reported his teammate had been as "bright and bubbly" as ever in
training.

"If you look at a lot of 19-year-olds out on the streets these
days, they are not as mature as Wayne Rooney," he said.